Krittika Biswas case: Congressman writes to Hillary Clinton

Krittika, daughter of Indian diplomat Debashish Biswas, had been jailed by the New York Police Department for cyber bullying.

Even as the US state department reiterated that Indian diplomat Debashish Biswas's daughter Krittika, who recently sued New York City for illegally detaining her, did not enjoy diplomatic immunity, voices are being raised in the United States over the controversy involving the teenaged Indian schoolgirl.

Leading Congressman Gary Ackerman has written a letter to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the Krittika issue. The letter comes ahead of Clinton's visit to India on July 19.

Ackerman's letter might be the impetus needed to get Clinton sort out the issue before she reaches India. Krittika's lawyer Ravi Batra had also earlier written to Clinton seeking her intervention. He had said that he was under pressure to withdraw the case.

In his letter to Clinton, Ackerman writes: "I hope that somebody can take the time to remedy.... this injustice that has befallen this young girl and her fine diplomat family."

On the other side, US state department spokesman Mark Toner on Tuesday reiterated that Krittika had been allowed to contact her parents during the night she was detained and was released the next day.

"As I've said before, as a family member of a consular officer at the Indian consulate in New York, she did not enjoy immunity from arrest from criminal or civil jurisdiction under international law. Certainly though, we value our partnership with India and we attach great importance to the presence of all Indian diplomatic and consular representatives in the United States. And we sympathise with Ms Biswas and her family," Toner said in his latest clarification.

"I think she was allowed to call her family and her father, who was the consul general, I believe. She was allowed to contact them," he added.

Krittika, whose father was the vice counsel at the Indian consulate in Manhattan, had been jailed by the New York Police Department for "cyber bullying", a crime she had not committed, on February 8. She later sued the New York City authorities for $1.5 million.

The teen had claimed that she had been ill-treated in prison after being arrested on charge of sending obscene emails to her teachers at Queens High School. She had alleged that she was not allowed to use the bathroom for a long-time when she was in custody.